Puka dogs are disgusting. What is wrong with people. It's a circular enclosed bun and then it's filled with weird flavored ketchup-like fruity sauces, and then some encased meat is thrust into the lubricated hole. I'm all for sexual innuendo in my food, but I really don't like artificial fruit flavoring, and I also don't particularly enjoy sketchy unidentified encased meats.

Kauai Kookies are ok with coffee, but I tend to prefer chewy cookies to hard ones. Except those Pepperidge Farm Bordeaux cookies. Those are good even though they are not chewy.

Re: Get to know your fellow board members....

Originally Posted by Miroir Noir

Courtney, I actually have an etiquette question, but instead of re-bumping that thread to bug you, I'll just ask you here. A co-worker's adult brother passes away. You are on pleasant but entirely work-related terms with the co-worker, didn't know that he had a brother, and don't know the circumstances of the death. A third co-worker asks you to contribute $15 to purchase a "planter" for the grieving co-worker. Does proper etiquette require me to say yes to this (and other similar) requests?

I may be upset in part because $15 is a truly annoying amount of money: it is more than a nominal amount, but less than an amount which you can comfortably object to without appearing to looking cheap. It is also annoying because it will almost certainly require you to find change, or to have the other person make change for you.

Also, FWIW, I would unhesitatingly contribute a reasonable amount of money to recognize a co-worker grieving for a spouse, significant other, or child, even if I didn't know the co-worker or the circumstances.

You are in no way obligated to contribute. If you are close to the coworker whose sibling has passed, you are obligated to recognize the death in some way, however a sentence or two in a notecard would be more than sufficient.

I would say your response to this should largely be dictated by your relationship with the coworker organizing the money collection. If this is a coworker whose opinion is important to you and your career, $15 is a small amount to lose for the sake of not rocking the boat. If this is a coworker whose opinion is less important to your career, a carefully worded "thank you for organizing this, I appreciate how thoughtful you are, however I have already sent my own condolences separately" would be fine.

Re: Get to know your fellow board members....

Originally Posted by Courtney

Ok. This is interesting. I have already explored quite a few occupations in my life: court-appointed mediator, counselor, nanny, barista, bartender, tour guide, writer, photographer, caterer, culinary school instructor, art history professor, art museum curator, secretary, economics teacher, SAT/GRE tutor, and telemarketer. But there are also a lot of things I haven't tried that I would like to take a shot at. If money was not an issue, I'd want to be an artist or poet or something, but I am going to assume that money IS an issue for the sake of this list.

Re: Get to know your fellow board members....

I am very interested in finance, but I interned for a summer on Wall Street. Never again. I'm more interested in applying theory to specific cases in a way that enables you to focus on the big picture than spending day to day in work environment where people get heart attacks at 25 years old.

Re: Get to know your fellow board members....

Originally Posted by TomAz

Courtney, are you an oenophile? If so, please tell us about some of your favorites. If not, why the hell did you go to Vassar?

I do enjoy wine, but I'm hardly an expert. It's something I often wish I knew more about, especially when I'm trying to decide what to buy or order and pretty much have no clue. In white wines, I tend to prefer clean, crisp varietals with balanced acidity, light on the fruit and floral notes, such as sauvignon blanc. In reds, I tend to prefer medium to full bodied wines with heavy fruit notes, like malbec or syrah.

Honestly, I rarely spend more than $12 per bottle when I'm buying for myself, so I often look for bottles from undervalued regions instead of picking up the more typical French stuff. I recently had a really lovely, spicy Australian shiraz by Chateau Tanunda.

Re: Get to know your fellow board members....

Originally Posted by getbetter

What is your preferred breakfast? So i know how to make it? cazziinnnnggg But seriously what's your ideal breakfast like?

Ha!

In an ideal world, I would start each morning with freshly squeezed orange juice, Kauai peaberry coffee in a french press, and plain lowfat greek yogurt with hazelnut granola and sliced mixed berries drizzled with honey.

Re: Get to know your fellow board members....

Originally Posted by Courtney

Ha!

In an ideal world, I would start each morning with freshly squeezed orange juice, Kauai peaberry coffee in a french press, and plain lowfat greek yogurt with hazelnut granola and sliced mixed berries drizzled with honey.

This sounds amazing!

I haven't read through this thread in awhile but I have enjoyed the last few pages. I don't know if this may have already been asked, if so I apologize. I get the impression from past posts that you have traveled a lot and lived in some very exotic places. Of all the places you have been what is your favorite and least favorite and why?

Re: Get to know your fellow board members....

Courtney, did you see Kicking and Screaming at Vassar? If so, what did you think of it then, and did you find yourself relating to it more after graduation?

Originally Posted by Courtney

Honestly, I rarely spend more than $12 per bottle when I'm buying for myself, so I often look for bottles from undervalued regions instead of picking up the more typical French stuff. I recently had a really lovely, spicy Australian shiraz by Chateau Tanunda.

I am a huge fan of Malbecs from Argentina for this very reason. I've also found that Spanish wines can give you an incredible value. Are wine and booze substantially more expensive in Hawaii?

Originally Posted by Goatchella

Please ask more questions which will allow me to stroke my interwebz ego.

This is silly trolling, even for your standards. Especially coming from someone who hijacks multiple threads and makes them about themselves.

Re: Get to know your fellow board members....

Originally Posted by Courtney

If I could have the complexion to match, I would love to have perfectly white hair. I would want it to be beautifully healthy, not dry like older people's hair often gets. I think there's something so uniquely stunning about 100% white hair. Plus, we always want what we don't have, so at least with white hair it would be so incredibly easy to die pretty much any shade I desired.

Re: Get to know your fellow board members....

I think NachoCat and Courtney are the same age, actually. Heh. Heh. Heh.

Whoops.

Originally Posted by kitt kat

What does blood sausage taste like!?

Earthy and rich, with a touch of sweetness.

Originally Posted by MissingPerson

Argh, stop saying "tendons".

What is wrong with tendons?

Originally Posted by buddy

Courtney, are you planning on seeing Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter, and what do think is his bigger accomplishment the emancipation proclamation, or killing vampires at night while being a president of a divided country during the day?

Oh jesus I thought this was a joke and you had just made up some sort of ridiculous vampire thing to mock me, but then I googled and I found out that it's actually a real movie. That's horrifying.

Re: Get to know your fellow board members....

Re: Get to know your fellow board members....

Originally Posted by locachica73

I haven't read through this thread in awhile but I have enjoyed the last few pages. I don't know if this may have already been asked, if so I apologize. I get the impression from past posts that you have traveled a lot and lived in some very exotic places. Of all the places you have been what is your favorite and least favorite and why?

Favorite: I have been fortunate to travel a lot, and I think Vienna, Paris, New York, Tokyo, San Francisco would all rank up there for favorite cities, Cuzco and Ulaan Bataar would be up there for adventurous times, and the Seychelles would be at the top of my list for a beach vacation for sure, but overall my favorite place I have visited is Marfa, Texas. It's a tiny little town located between El Paso and San Antonio, but it has my favorite art museum ever, an absolutely fantastic coffee/book shop, a couple great restaurants, and a music venue that inexplicably gets amazing bands to come even though the town is only like 2500 people. If I was wealthy beyond belief, I would have a second home in Marfa, along with a private plane to take me there whenever I chose.

Least Favorite: I lived in Saudi Arabia for several years when I was younger, which was unpleasant. It wasn't even just the fact that alcohol was illegal, or that everything shut down five times each day for prayer, or that no food was allowed in public during all day every day for the entire duration of Ramadan, or that women can't drive, or even that I had to wear a massive black cloak and head wrap in 110-120 degree weather. It was just how miserable living there made all of the expats I knew, and then how that unhappiness sort of just permeated everything. However, I think my experience visiting Morocco beats even Saudi Arabia in terms of unpleasantness. I visited as a single female traveler because I figured that in comparison to other places I had been like Saudi Arabia and Yemen, Morocco would be relatively European in comparison. Wow was I wrong. I got SO horribly harassed pretty much every single time I went out. Then in Marrakesh I hired an official tour guide to try to eliminate some of the harassment, and he tried to extort me for triple to agreed upon daily fee. Then in Fez a taxi driver drove me to a sketchy part of the city and wouldn't drive me back to my hotel until I gave him a $40 "tip". Fuck that. I spent the rest of my vacation reading french novels and drinking mint tea in the hotel courtyard.

Re: Get to know your fellow board members....

Courtney, did you see Kicking and Screaming at Vassar? If so, what did you think of it then, and did you find yourself relating to it more after graduation?

I actually don't think I've seen it. I'm a horrible failure of a Vassar graduate.

Originally Posted by Miroir Noir

I am a huge fan of Malbecs from Argentina for this very reason. I've also found that Spanish wines can give you an incredible value. Are wine and booze substantially more expensive in Hawaii?

Yes, I am also a fan of malbec. Wine and booze don't tend to be too much more expensive -- maybe $2-3 more for a six-pack of beer or a cheap bottle of wine. The things that tend to be the most expensive are perishables that can't survive being on a ship for 3-4 weeks, so they need to get sent by air. That includes most produce, milk, and meats. Apples are around $2.50 per pound, lettuce is about $3 per head, milk is usually $6-8 per gallon, and a whole chicken is about $2-3 per pound.

Re: Get to know your fellow board members....

What would you want to have for your final meal with your parents if you had the knowledge that it would be the last time you'd be dining with both of them? Would it be something your mom makes or would it be at a particular restaurant?

If you're uncertain who to pick for next week, I've never done this before, so.

Originally Posted by Larry Farnsworth

"I assume you guys aren't familiar with all of the shit on this lineup but if you listened to shit radio stations you would be."

Re: Get to know your fellow board members....

Originally Posted by Hannahrain

What's the best ten bucks you've ever spent?

I have one of those magnetic key holder box things that I bought to keep on the bottom of my car. It's seriously the best for people who are absent-minded like me and prone to locking yourself out of your car, work, house, etc etc etc. I have locked myself out of my car at Ikea, in school parking lots, and once at a party. I have locked myself out of my house too. Calling a locksmith can easily cost anywhere from $50 to $150. That magnetic key holder box now saves my ass so I don't have to call anybody.